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Rescue teams have escorted all of the remaining adventurers near the eastern slopes of Mount Everest in Tibet to safety, including scores of native guides and yak herders, authorities stated. This marks the end one of the largest search-and-rescue operations ever conducted in the region.

Large-Scale Rescue Effort Completed

Numerous of explorers were became trapped in deep snow over the recent weekend in the isolated Karma valley, after an unusually fierce blizzard dumped heavy snowfall across the region.

Snow kept coming down all day Saturday in the valley, which rests at an average altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet). By Sunday, emergency teams had led approximately 350 hikers to safety.

Previous accounts had estimated that the last group of roughly 200 hikers were expected to reach their destination by Tuesday.

In total, 580 hikers, along with more than 300 guides, livestock herders, and other support staff were brought out, according to government announcements released on Tuesday night.

Those Rescued Recount Severe Situations

One from China hiker recalled how their group had been “too frightened to sleep” on Saturday, as snow swiftly built up around their tents, forcing them to shovel it every 90 minutes. They opted to move to lower ground on Sunday as the conditions became more severe.

“On the way, we encountered our guide’s father, who had ventured for him. That’s when we realized the snow was heavy in the valley, too; villagers, unable to contact their children on the mountain, were extremely worried.”

Expedition Schedules Disrupted

The blizzard also disrupted the goals of mountaineers escorted by a US-based mountaineering outfit to summit Cho Oyu, an 8,188-meter (26,864-foot) peak on the boundary between the People's Republic of China and the nation of Nepal.

Visitor Increase in the Area

Karma valley was first explored by foreign travelers a long time ago. In the past few years, with the development of the Everest region in Tibet as a major visitor draw, the area has attracted an increasing number of visitors. More than 540,000 sightseers explored the Everest region last year, setting a unprecedented number.

Region Remains Closed

The Everest region is still for the time being inaccessible to the visitors, covering the Karma and Rongshar valleys, as well as Cho Oyu.

Broader Effect

The intense snowfall over the weekend also affected many of travelers in other parts of the western regions of China, including Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. Sadly, at least one individual died, due to a combination of exposure and altitude sickness.

Atypical Conditions

October is typically a high season for the area, with typically sunny and mild weather, but one participant of an 18-person hiking party that got back to Qudang remarked that the weather this year was “atypical.”